07-08-13 Common Council Meeting Minutes

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REGULAR MEETING JULY 8, 2013 Councilmember Varner made a motion to accept the substitute version of this bill as on file in the Office of the City Clerk. Councilmember Oliver Davis seconded the motion which carried by a voice vote of eight (8) ayes. Councilmember Karen White, Chairperson, Health & Public Safety Committee, reported that this committee held a meeting this afternoon and it was the consensus of the committee to send this substitute bill to the full Council with a favorable recommendation. Councilmember Tim Scott, 711 Forest Avenue, South Bend, Indiana, made the presentation for this bill. The City of South Bend is a buzz in anticipation of this bill. We have a sweet, sweet deal right now. Right now I would like to turn it over to my co-presenters Sara Stewart and Vince Barletto. Sara Stewart, Executive Director, Unity Gardens, spoke to the phenomenon know a “colony collapse” all too familiar across the country in recent years. Most recently we have a 55% percent loss in our honey bee population. Bees pollinate over 1/3 of our produce and they give us honey. That this is significant is an understatement in light of the necessary pollination of all flowering plants done by bees. In other words, regardless of the reason for their decline, environmental, climate, or otherwise, the bottom line is no bees, no food. To avoid disaster efforts to encourage honey bee colony formation need to be pushed. In LaSalle Square for example Unity Gardens efforts have increased 400%. The Indiana Code addresses the management of honey bees and is dedicated increase education, outreach, and protection. In order to manage foods natural resource the City of South Bend, Peace Bees, Unity Gardens have come together in collaborative efforts to education our community more. She thanked the Council for their foresight to recognize this opportunity and act on it with United Gardens, Peace Bees, and the City of South Bend. Vince Barletto, Local Beekeeper, 1010 Culver, South Bend, Indiana, stated that his presentation will be short and sweet. The honey bee population and the pollination is a 19 billion dollar a year industry on our food market. They actually pollinate 1/3 of our food, so you can think of it as if we lose our bees we lose our food. They pollinate everything from berries, nuts, and flowers to the food we eat. He presented his power point presentation at this time. (A copy is on file in the Office of the City Clerk) He stated that commercial beekeepers are losing 30 to 90 percent of their bees. He stated that our food prices are directly impacted by that. Mr. Barletto stated that honeybees are peaceful by nature, very docile creatures; they are not interested in you. He stated that this bill amends the code to make it easier for people who want to keep common honeybees in the city. It eliminates the acreage requirement for beekeeping and creates a beekeeping permit through the Department of Code Enforcement. He stated that the applicants would pay a $20 permit fee and prove that they have been advised on beekeeping by an entity. Any hives would need to be placed at least 4 feet from the property line and at least 10 feet from the sidewalk under the ordinance they would also need to be protected by a barrier. It’s called a flyaway barrier and would be placed in front of the hive. This would protect someone who walks through someone’s back yard that is not fenced. If you are allergic to bees, how this would affect you, it doesn’t. Again, remember that bees are allowed in the city so they already exist, we already have trees, flowers and other things that are conducive to the growth of honey bees so they are already here. If you are allergic to bees he would imagine that your allergist tells you to carry an Epi Pen anyways. You should already be prepared for that. This really is not affecting them at all. If you happen to find a swarm in your back yard you will do the same thing now that you would have done prior, you would need to call the city or you can call one of the guys here and they will come get the swarm. Councilmember Oliver Davis two questions, first all, could you explain why you call them peace bees. Alex Lesniak, 25600 Peach Road, South Bend, Indiana, stated that she is the founder of “Peace th Bees” and basically she created this organization while she was in 6 grade to educate the public whether it’s in South Bend and even beyond South Bend about the importance of honey bees and the reason she called them Peace Bees is because she wanted to emphasis their peaceful nature. Honey bees when they sting you they die immediately after, it is not in their nature to just attack 12